ACADEMIC RESEARCH COMMITTEE

The Academic Research Committee (ARC) operates as a University Senate committee and the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Southern Adventist University (Southern) operates as a subcommittee of ARC. ARC ‘s mandate is to assess and award ARC Grant Applications for both ARC $500 initial research proposals and ARC full research grant requests. These grants are available for each school year and are awarded with the expectation the funds will be utilized prior to May 31 of the current school year. If a full research project will cross school years, continuation of funding is dependent on a new request. 

MISSION

The mission of the Academic Research Committee (ARC) and its subcommittee, the Institutional Review Board (IRB) is to ensure that vital, university research can be funded and conducted in full compliance with both the letter and the spirit of regulations designed to protect the rights and welfare of human subjects. Both ARC and IRB are charged to monitor research to ensure all human subjects involved with research are protected from undue risk and from deprivation of personal rights and dignity. This protection is assured by consideration of three principles that are the basis of ethical research:

1. That voluntary participation by the subjects, indicated by free and informed consent, is assured by the investigators;
2. That an appropriate balance exists between potential benefits of the research to the subject or to society and the risks assumed by the subject; and
3. That there are fair procedures and outcomes in the selection of research subjects.

All faculty and staff (both full-time and part-time) as Southern Researchers may apply for ARC grants and must apply to the IRB when conducting research other than for institutional reports. They must fill out the appropriate forms when using human subjects and vertebrates, or identifiable, private information about human subjects to conduct research within the course and scope of their duties, are required to have prior approval from the IRB before research is initiated.  Please see this manual for complete details as to which forms are required. 

All projects must be approved. This policy also applies to students whose research is conducted under the advisement of a faculty member. All research proposals must be reviewed by the IRB, and no individual other than the IRB Chair may exempt a proposal from further review. 

Research is defined as:  “A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge. Activities, which meet this definition, constitute research for purposes of this policy, whether they are conducted or supported under a program, which is considered research for other purposes. For example, some demonstration and service programs may include research activities” (Code of Federal Regulations, 45 CFR 46.102d).

A Human Subject means:  “A living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains (1) data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or (2) identifiable private information” (Code of Federal Regulations, 45 CFR 46.102f)

Thirteen members consisting of a total of nine faculty members appointed by the University Senate. Faculty positions are staggered, three-year, non-renewable terms (eligible for another term after a one-year hiatus). Three faculty are to be selected from each of the following areas: Science/ Math (Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Math, and Physics & Engineering). Life Sciences (Center for Teaching Excellence, Online Campus, Business and Management, Education and Psychology, Journalism and Communication, Nursing, Physical Education, Health and Kinesiology, Social Work, and Applied Technology). Liberal Arts (English, History, Library, Modern Languages, Music, Religion, and Visual Art and Design). Student Association shall appoint one student for a one-year, non-renewable term (recommended that this student be selected from the pool of Southern Scholars), the vice president for Academic Administration, ex officio, Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance, ex officio and the IRB Chair ex officio.

 The ARC will elect a chair and secretary from among its membership. The secretary position is for two years, beginning at the time of election. The secretary is the chair-elect. The chair position is for two years, beginning at the time of appointment as chair, and is non-renewable.

The ARC will elect three IRB Committee members from among its membership, one member each from Science/Math, Life Sciences and Liberal Arts. IRB Committee positions are for one-year terms renewable as long as they are still members of the ARC.

Authority to Act

The Academic Research Committee facilitates academic research for faculty and students through four functions: support, quality assurance/review, funding and reporting. The Committee has authority to act in each of these areas as follows:

Support 

1. Encourages and supports research initiatives and activities, including evaluating needs for in-service training and mentorship.
2. Recommends, through established administrative policy-making channels and the University Senate, actions and/or changes to policies applicable to research under its jurisdiction.
3. Makes available to faculty and staff, ARC grant applications and IRB applications.

Quality Assurance/Review 

1. Coordinates with Southern legal counsel, Southern Institutional Research, Southern Risk Management, and Southern Administration to ensure:
   1. Compliance with legal, regulatory, and ethical laws, regulations, mandates, and provisions, and
   2. Containment of university risk exposure related to academic research.
2. Receives notification of the development of unexpected risks in the course of conducting research, and, where appropriate, recommends actions relating to that risk.
3. Supports the integrity of university research activities, including quality, feasibility, and value.

Funding

1. Reviews, approves or denies funding requests from Southern faculty for academic research.
2. Cooperates with the Southern Associate Vice President for Budget and Finance to establish the annual grant budget used by the Academic Research Committee to facilitate campus-wide academic research.
3. Coordinates with the Southern Accounting Department Office in distributing approved research grant funds.

1. Receives, reviews and maintains records of all on-going campus wide academic research conducted by faculty and students which meet the following criteria:
   1. Research is seeking either internal or external funding.
   2. Research involves human subjects.
   3. Research involves animals or plants.
   4. Research is described as other.
2. Reports annually, and as requested, to the University Senate the activities of the Academic Research Committee and the Institutional Review Board subcommittee.
3. Makes available to Academic Administration and Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies, through the ARC and IRB SharePoint sites, the current status of on-going campus wide academic research.

The role of the ARC chair is to: 1) articulate communication between the grant applicant, ARC members, and the Accounting Department regarding the voting process and approval decisions, and document and keep a record of ARC minutes, which contain the information on awards per year; and 2) encourage Southern faculty to submit research grant applications to ARC. If ARC has a designated secretary, this role can work in conjunction with the ARC chair to facilitate the aforementioned tasks. The ARC chair and the designated secretary will have access to ARC’s email and to ARC’s SharePoint repository.

• All ARC-related communications and decisions regarding grant proposals are conducted electronically.
• The ARC chair or the designated secretary receives the grant proposals submitted by applicants to arc@southern.edu. They will send an email of receipt to the applicant.
• Once a grant proposal is received, the ARC chair or the designated secretary sends the grant proposal and any supporting documents (e.g., the IRB approval letter and the approved IRB application form) to ARC members by email.
• Faculty 500 Research Fund Applications are for applicants seeking small funding, up to $500, to initiate research on a new idea. Applications for larger research grants will undergo more rigorous evaluation, particularly regarding the details provided in the Outline of Research and Budget sections. In any case, the objective of ARC is to encourage faculty to apply for institutional funds to do research.
• In the budget section of the Research Grant Application form, applicants can include student salaries and wages, equipment, materials, and supplies, as well as travel expenses for data collection and analysis. Financial funds for publishing or presenting research results should come from the professional growth fund of the applicant. 
• All relevant application-related documents should be posted for comments for a period of 48 hours. Once that time has passed, the document with comments will be reviewed by everyone on the committee, and then votes can be cast. Committee members are encouraged to provide constructive feedback to support their decision to approve or deny the request. Comments will be provided to all Committee members for review unless the comments are sensitive in nature. Decisions require votes from at least 50% of committee members, with approval requiring a simple majority of votes cast. The ARC chair and the designated secretary will also have the right to vote.
• There are three options to vote: 1. Approved; 2. Approved with minor changes; and 3. Denied.
• If a full Research Grant Application or a Faculty 500 grant Application is denied, the ARC chair or the designated secretary will forward the committee’s comments to the applicant. Then, the applicant can amend it. The applicant will have 10 business days to make any necessary amendments. Once the amendment is received by the ARC chair or the designated secretary, it will be distributed to ARC members for voting. Additional amendment requests are possible.
• When a full Research Grant Application or a Faculty 500 grant Application is approved,  the ARC chair or the designated secretary will upload the final version of the request form (the amended version, if applicable) and supporting documents to ARC’s SharePoint repository. If the application was approved with minor changes,  the ARC chair or the designated secretary will forward these comments to the applicant. Then, the applicant will be required to consider implementing those comments in their project for future improvement.  
• To avoid a conflict of interest, ARC committee members who submit a grant application will be prohibited from voting or commenting on their own application. If the ARC chair or the designated secretary submits a grant application, they will request that a different ARC member handle the voting process.
• The ARC members will be in session to study and vote on grant proposals during the academic semesters, excluding summer and winter breaks. 

• Once a project is approved, the ARC chair or the designated secretary will send an email to the recipient to notify about the award. This email must contain all parameters and requirements by which the recipient should abide, for example, the date by which the money should be spent. Also, this email must specify the responsibility of the Progress Report and all its parameters to the recipient. Also, the ARC chair or the designated secretary will email the Accounting Department to request the creation of General Ledger (GL) numbers for the project. In this email, the ARC chair or the designated secretary will include the meeting minutes when the project was approved for review by the Accounting Department.
• After generating the Project Number and the GL numbers, the Accounting Department will send them directly to the applicant and copy the ARC Chair or the designated secretary by email. Also, the Accounting Department will send the minutes with the revised approved amounts to arc@southern.edu.
• Finally, the ARC Chair or the designated secretary will upload the revised minutes to the institutional ARC’s SharePoint repository.

• The recipients of all funded projects, except for Faculty 500 Research Grants, must submit a final Progress Report upon completion or an interim Progress Report if the project extends beyond one year to the ARC chair or the designated secretary. This report must be submitted within 10 business days of the anniversary of the award. The Progress Report template is available on ARC’s webpage. The reports will be compiled and shared with committee members by the ARC chair or the designated secretary. The ARC chair or the designated secretary will remind recipients by email to submit their reports 10 business days prior to the deadline.
• The interim Progress Report or the final Progress Report includes the following: objectives and their completion status, products delivered and their availability in Knowledge Exchange, and links to any supporting evidence (e.g., published scientific publications), evaluation of success against the original criteria, and financial accountability (confirmation of funds used or returned)..
• The ARC chair or the designated secretary will share the interim Progress Report or the final Progress Report with ARC members by email. If there are comments from the members, the ARC chair or the designated secretary will communicate them to the grant recipient by email.
• Failure to submit the required report within 10 business days upon completion may affect eligibility for future ARC funding for a period of three years. In order to try to avoid this penalty, the ARC chair will follow this process closely with the recipient of the award.
• If the report does not address all the criteria required, the reporter can adjust it based on feedback from ARC members to avoid the aforementioned penalty.
• Returning funds if the project has been abandoned or if there are unused funds will also be communicated using the Progress Report template available on ARC’s website.